and as ruben ramirez reports, generic drug makers have been preparing for the slowdown. >> reporter: 2012 has been a boon for generic drug makers as 40 brand name drugs lost their patent protection, opening the door to what amounted to around $35 billion in sales. 2013 will be a different story, with only about half as many drugs scheduled to lose their patent protections. lipitor, pfizer's blockbuster cholesterol drug, was the biggest seller to lose patent protection this year. >> there are still individual product opportunities in 2013, but i think probably more importantly is we'll see in 2013, which we'll see more of going forward, is more alternative sources of growth to sort of bolster the traditional u.s. generic source of growth. >> reporter: 2013 could also see industry consolidation as some of the bigger players look to acquire smaller rivals to beef- up their product portfolios. >> it's going to be acquiring the niche companies to help support or enable the development of a particular generic in the market. or it's going to be making strategic partnerships with types of co